Mark: Nigeria’s $1.7 billion pension fraud disgraceful 

Nigeria’s Senate President, David Mark, on Thursday said that the level of fraud uncovered in the administration of pensions in the country was a national disgrace.
Mark made this known after the senate recommended the immediate sack and prosecution of the chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Mr Abdulrasheed Maina.
Maina was alleged indicteded in the misappropriation of N273.9($1.7billion) billion pension funds.
This followed senate’s adoption of the recommendations of its Joint Committee on Establishment and Public Service and States and Local Governments Administration which probed pension administration in the country.
The senate also endorsed the disbandment of the task team, the suspension and prosecution of all other officers involved in the alleged fraud.
It also recommended that Mr Abdulrasheed Maina, John Yusuf, B. G Kaigama and all the members of the taskforce be arrested and prosecuted by the police for fraud.
Other offences against the officers, the report added, were embezzlement and misappropriation.
The senate mandated the joint committee to summon Maina to appear before it when members return from their annual retreat in Uyo, Akwa Ibom between 23 June and 29 June.
“ Anybody who is involved in this must be a devilish being moving around in the midst of human beings. This is not just a monumental fraud but also a national disgrace and embarrassment.
“It behoves on us, therefore, to insist that these recommendations are implemented by the executive.
“For any human being to begin to embezzle the money of those who had laboured this much, I think it’s only God who can punish them.
“No amount of recommendation here is enough punishment for those who are involved. And we hope that the Almighty God will send them to hell,’’ Mark said.
The senate also endorsed the recommendation of the committee directing the Accountant-General of the Federation to mop up all pensions funds.
The committee observed that the pension funds were scattered in various banks, for settlement of outstanding pension liabilities.
Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, the Leader of the Senate, expressed regrets that people who were supposed to rescue the situation turned out to rip-off the pensioners.
“This is a blood money and blood money is a curse, not only to them but their children’s children.
Briefing newsmen at the end of Thursday’s plenary, senate spokesman, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said 104 recommendations were endorsed by the senate while 22 were rejected.
He said that the recommendations had made false, the allegations that the joint committee was compromised during the investigations.
“All in all, the key aspect of these recommendations and the thing that we want to take away from this report is the fact that allegations that the joint committee was compromised in any way has been proved to be false.
Abaribe said the senate further endorsed the recommendation that effort must be made to systematically review the processes and procedure within the pension scheme.
He challenged the executive arm of government to continue from where the legislature stopped by urgently implementing all the recommendations endorsed by the senate.
“Our prayer is that this is one report that we would like the executive not to take lightly.
“This is one report that we would ensure that the executive must treat seriously given the enormity of the fraud,’’ he said. (NAN)